Just a Ring
by MagicFairyGirl8
Summary: "...it's silly, it's just a ring, it's not her but..." "It's not silly. It's the piece of your mom that you carry with you everyday... and to suddenly have that ripped away from you... I can only imagine how horrible that must have been..." Rick cupped her face, wiping tears away. "It's important." Caskett fluff, no spoilers.


Disclaimer: Castle belongs to lots of people, but I'm not one of them.

No spoilers, just bucket-loads of fluff. Set sometime in season 3 I guess but it doesn't really matter. I hope Kate's not too out of character... I just can't help picturing Castle as her knight in shining armour. Enjoy.

**Just a Ring**

Kate Beckett let the front door shut behind her and sighed tiredly, relieved to be home after closing a long and difficult case that had ended in a standoff with the killer. Their suspect was a low-life drug dealer wanted for the murder of his girlfriend, and they tracked him to one of the warehouses he used to unload shipments. Unfortunately, it soon came to light that a couple of his associates had been talking to his rival, and the situation had quickly escalated into a full-blown shooting. The dealer had taken out one of the associates, and the other had shot back at him before SWAT could gain control. The first victim, a low-ranking member of the organisation had co-operated fully with the police, and had turned to them for protection when his disloyalty was unearthed, but it had happened so fast there was nothing Beckett or the boys could do. Kate had ended up getting sprayed with the man's blood before one of the SWAT team took out the shooter. It wasn't pleasant, but at least none of the 'good guys' had gotten hurt, and the only casualties were a couple of drug dealers, so overall the team considered it a win.

Being covered in blood was always gross, but at least it wasn't her own, so that was good. Kate was desperate for a shower, although the Captain was expecting an update. She dropped her bag by the door, then shed her coat and scarf, kicked off her boots and headed to the bathroom.

After splashing some water on her face to clean herself up a little, Kate retrieved her phone from her pocket and called the Captain. He was satisfied with the closure of the case, and insisted that paperwork could wait until Monday. Kate was glad for once that her team had been given the weekend off; she knew they could all do with some rest.

Work sorted for now and the happy prospect of a couple of days to herself, she padded barefoot towards the shower, stripping off her jeans and sweater (both of which would need a trip to the dry-cleaners to get the bloodstains out), before reaching for her vest. Something was wrong.

Kate looked down at herself. It only took one second for her to realise that her mother's ring wasn't there. Neither was the chain it always hung on. She felt panic rise up inside her. Frantic, Kate looked around her, under the clothes she had discarded on the bathroom floor, moving back into her bedroom and out, retracing her steps. She spotted something metallic on the living room floor, but the hope died in her chest when she saw it was just the broken chain.

Furniture was moved around, couch cushions dislodged in a frenzy as Kate searched. She was not thinking rationally – she hadn't even been near the sofa since she'd been home – but panic was all she could do.

_I splashed water on my face – what if it went down the sink when I wasn't paying attention?_

Kate hurried back into the bathroom; the gaps in the plughole were big enough that Johanna's ring could have fallen down there. She found a torch and shone the beam down the sink but there was no ring that she could see. _Maybe it was caught in the pipe underneath?_

Well aware that she looked positively certifiable, running around half dressed waving a wrench, but Kate didn't care. She set the tool bag down beside the bath tub before locating the join in the pipe under the sink, using the wrench to loosen it so she could check if the ring was stuck in the bend. Granted, Kate Beckett was no plumber, but she did usually have a fairly good idea about basic DIY – or at least she did when she was thinking properly and not in a panic. Any other time and her common sense would be telling her not to do anything with water pipes without turning the water off first. As it was, in that moment, she wasn't thinking clearly at all, and therefore ended up getting completely soaked when water began spurting out of the open pipe.

Kate shrieked and blindly tightened the join again, stopping the explosion of water and leaving instead a steadily leaking pipe. Tears stung in her eyes; she hated feeling so helpless and pathetic.

A knock at the door made her jump. She wasn't expecting anyone. Grabbing a towel from the bathroom rail to try and dry herself off a little, Kate went to check the peephole. Of course. Castle. Who else would it be? She couldn't help but smile when she noticed the bag from Remy's in his arms.

A slight shiver reminded her of her current state of undress; she had water dripping from the ends of her hair and her white camisole was clinging to her front. Kate clutched the towel to her chest, hiding some of her translucent clothing, as she opened the door.

Her eyes were glistening with tears but she managed to hold it together. Castle's own eyes widened as he took in the sight of her.

"Kate, um, I'm sorry, I should have called first... I thought maybe we could have dinner..?" He held up the bag of food, trying his best not to stare at her bare legs and the sliver of skin below her top. She held his gaze and swallowed, biting her bottom lip to keep from crying.

"Kate, what's wrong?" Castle stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Kate brought her fingers up to her mouth, desperate not to break down in front of him; she was supposed to be the strong, independent cop, and here she was half-dressed, soaking wet and a couple of Castle's kind words away from bursting into tears.

In fact all it took was Rick's gentle hand on her shoulder and the floodgates opened a little. Kate brushed the tears away.

"Hey, whatever it is, you can tell me. Maybe I can help. Whatever it is Kate, we can work it out." He stroked her bare shoulder with his thumb. "Anything I can do, I will, you know that. You just have to tell me..." She pressed her hand tighter to her mouth, trying to suppress the sob building up inside her, more tears wetting her cheeks.

"It's okay. It's going to be okay. I'm here." Rick pulled her against him, folding her in a secure embrace, one hand across her back, the other stroking her hair. "Kate, what's happened?"

She pulled back to meet his face, although he didn't let her leave the circle of his arms. Shaking a little, she held her hand up where it was curled in a fist, opening it after a moment. Rick's fingers touched the chain that sat in her hand, soothing his thumb over the imprint of the chain links across her palm where she'd been holding the necklace so tight.

He recognised it at once: it was the chain that bore her mother's ring. Castle's thumb nudged the tiny – broken – clasp. "Oh Kate..."

Both his hands cradled hers, stroking over her fingers and palm, the chaos of her apartment suddenly becoming clear.

"You think – here?"

"If not here then... gone."

"When did you notice? I'm guessing when you were getting changed."

Kate nodded.

"Not that I'm not loving the new look, but why are you all wet?"

She clutched tighter at the towel self-consciously. "I thought maybe... I splashed some water on my face when I first got in, before I rung the captain, so I thought maybe it fell down the plughole but I..."

Rick smiled, curling a strand of her wet hair around his finger. He carefully took the chain from her hand and placed it on the kitchen counter, then curved his fingers round hers and led the way to the bathroom. Wordlessly Castle shed his jacket, rolled up his shirt sleeves and knelt to examine the pipe that was dripping. He grabbed a wrench from the tool bag and – after switching off the water – undid the join and checked inside. No ring. The pipe was then re-fastened properly, and the water turned on once more.

When he was done he found Kate in her bedroom, now dressed in yoga pants and a dry vest. Again he took her hand, squeezing it. "Let's start in here, okay?" She nodded. They checked thoroughly under everything, Rick leaving the bed itself and the clothes on the chair to Kate, before moving on to the bathroom. When they had no luck in there, they started in the kitchen/living area. Kate was systematically searching down all the backs of the couch and armchair, having come up empty in all corners of the kitchen. Meanwhile Castle was over by the front door. He was just checking her coat and scarf where she'd dropped them over the chair by the door when he spotted something shiny under the little table a couple of feet away.

It must have been caught in her scarf then dislodged when she'd removed it, the rug muffling the sound of it hitting the floor and rolling away. Castle crawled closer on all fours, stretching his hand out, his head half under the hall table to retrieve it. Before he stood up and brushed off the knees of his jeans, Rick checked to make certain it was Johanna Beckett's ring. It was. He smiled to himself.

"Kate." She looked up, hurrying over as he held it out to her. Kate took it carefully from his outstretched fingers, touching it reverently, pressing it briefly to her lips when she was sure it was her mother's ring and that it was perfectly intact.

Holding it securely in her hand, she looked up at Castle, her eyes wet with tears again.

"Thank you... I thought it was gone and I just... it's silly, it's just a ring, it's not her but..." Kate looked down at it again, holding it in her hand.

"It's not silly. It's the piece of your mom that you carry with you everyday, it's a reminder, a way to feel close to her and to help you keep going when things get tough, and to suddenly have that ripped away from you... I can only imagine how horrible that must have been..." Rick cupped her face, wiping tears away. "It's important."

Kate slid her arms round his neck and they held each other tight.

"Thank you." Kate whispered.

"You're welcome." They broke apart, Kate caressing the ring's band and jewelled setting, reassuring herself that it wasn't lost.

"Burgers will be cold by now." She said after a moment.

"Nah, they should still be fine. Fresh and hot from the grill when I got there." Castle smiled at her. "Come on. I bet you're starving, I know I am."

They sat up at the bar in the kitchen, devouring the burgers and fries. Now the panic was over, Kate had realised just how hungry she was. Her mother's ring lay on the counter between them; she couldn't help but glance at it every now and then, just to make sure it was still there. Kate knew Rick had noticed but was glad he didn't comment.

While Kate cleared the empty takeout containers away, she could hear Castle tapping away on his phone. She was about to ask what he was up to (she was positive he was up to something – the smile on his face as he texted gave him away), but before she could he finished, tucked his phone away in his pocket and gave her a satisfied grin.

"You'll find out soon enough."

Kate simply rolled her eyes, knowing she wouldn't get anything out of him if he was determined to keep it a surprise.

"Won't Alexis and Martha be missing you tonight?" She questioned instead.

"No, they've gone to the theatre for a girly night. Apparently I wasn't invited." He pretended to look grumpy.

Kate smiled at him. "Well, their loss is my gain." Castle returned the smile. "Wanna watch a movie?" She asked.

"Sure, you pick." He said, settling on the couch beside her. Kate nudged his side with her elbow.

"No, you pick. You brought dinner and found my mom's ring and saved me from a DIY disaster and didn't make fun when I was being a pathetic, panicking mess. So you get to pick the movie."

Rick shrugged. "You're the boss." After setting up his selection he sat back next to her. They both watched as the start credits began to roll. He didn't look at her, simply nudged her back. "And you're not pathetic. Never could be. You're the strongest person I know." As he paused, Kate could feel her cheeks warming and her heart fluttered in her chest. "Just promise me something." She did meet his eyes then. "Anything like this ever happens again – not that it will, but if it did – you call me, okay?"

Their eyes were locked.

"Okay."

They both turned back to the movie.

"Good."

About an hour in, there was a knock at the door. Until that moment Kate had completely forgotten about Castle's secret texting earlier. What had he done? He was staring resolutely at the TV screen, apparently too engrossed in the action to offer to answer the door.

Kate got up and padded to the front door. She heard the sound disappear as Rick paused the film, obviously awaiting her return.

Not bothering to check the peephole, Kate was surprised to find herself face to face with a man in his sixties dressed in a long brown coat and holding a cap in his hands. She smiled at the gentleman, and he smiled back.

"Miss Beckett?"

"Yes." His smile widened and he dipped his head in greeting. He produced a small package from his coat pocket, holding it out carefully for her. "Um, thank you. Let me just get my purse-"

"That's not necessary Miss; everything has been taken care of." Kate glanced over her shoulder at Castle, who she suspected had looked away, avoiding her questioning gaze. He was grinning to himself though.

"Have a good evening, Miss Beckett." The gentleman said when she had turned back. He nodded to her, lifting his cap back on to his head. "Ricky."

"Take care, Henry." Castle called from the sofa, raising a hand in response to the man's nod in his direction. Kate watched him walk away, shutting the door behind him. She returned to Castle's side, the small package in her hand. Narrowing her eyes at his smile, Kate carefully tore open the brown paper. A chain slithered out into her palm. She felt Rick shift closer, his thigh brushing hers.

"It's lightweight and the same length as your old one but it's really strong – see the doubled links – and the clasp is reinforced so it won't come undone or break." Kate let him take the necklace from her, open the clasp and slide her mother's ring onto the chain, securing it closed again. Leaning in, Rick slipped the necklace over her head, lifting her long hair free so the chain lay against her skin and the ring on her chest.

Kate studied the beautiful chain.

"This must have cost a fortune." She looked up at him, her fingers still around the ring.

"You're worth it." They shared a laugh. "Okay that was cheesy and I didn't think it through." Castle smiled. "What I meant was: however expensive it was – which you will never know – it's worth it for your peace of mind, knowing that it's safe."

She let the ring fall from her hand as she reached for him, both arms around his neck again, hugging him tight. "Thank you, Rick."

"Always."


End file.
